


Echo

by futureimperfect, Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)



Series: Sine Qua Non [1]
Category: Law and Order
Genre: Angst, F/F, Femslash, Flashback
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-22
Updated: 2010-05-22
Packaged: 2017-10-09 16:04:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/89175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect, https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the little things that remind Abbie of Ricci the most--the little things that she copes with every day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Echo

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Law and Order belongs to Dick Wolf and NBC Universal.
> 
> Note: An introspective/series of missing scenes from 9.24/9.24 "Refuge" as well as a preview to a series of pieces featuring Abbie. See the endnotes for more!

She had done well closing the door behind her and moving away from it rather than sinking to the floor. She had even managed, when hanging up her coat, not to stop, to linger, to bury her face in the light jacket that was hanging on the other hook. Instead, she simply stepped out of her shoes and went to her bedroom, where the bed had been made since she left that morning. Abbie covered her mouth with her long fingers, but she held it in. She sat carefully, almost as if she could manage not to wrinkle the comforter.

But it was when she began to unroll her stockings that she saw the picture on the nightstand, and it was when she picked it up that she began to shed tears when she thought they were all used up too quickly. Abbie closed her eyes.

_She laughed lightly and tipped her coffee cup back to get the last of it, her favorite—black, lukewarm, and too sweet. And when she tossed the cup into the trash, she was grinning. "Good people? 'She's good people' was all you could manage to say. Jesus, Toni, I thought I was the one from Texas."_

"Well, you are." She was grinning still when Toni perched on the edge of the desk. "And I didn't think 'oh, she's good in bed too' was relevant."

Abbie took a sweeping glance before leaning forward. The office was mostly empty, and it was too late for anyone to be there. But those were her nights more often than not. She wanted to savor the moment, knowing it would be short, knowing she needed to get back to work. But first, she stretched up, meeting Toni in a playful kiss.

"Do me a favor," she whispered, "no dirty talk in Russian during this case. I gotta have some dignity in this mess."

Abbie wiped her face and shook her head as she lay back and simply curled into herself. She wasn't one to wallow, to sit around, but she was tired. The case was taking everything out of and now everything away from her. A boy was lying in the hospital without a mother, and she was lying alone on a pristine bed that she couldn't bring herself to unmake, even for the comfort of being under the covers. One step closer…and now she was stumbling back blindly, trying to tell herself that there would be the hope of justice in the morning.

*****

Jack's footsteps faded, and Abbie turned her back to the world outside her door. He looked tired, worn, and she could only imagine how she looked in comparison. She covered half of her face with her hand, catching the tears there. One thing always led to another with Toni, and she had followed along eagerly. But now she found herself almost as lost in it as Jack was in seeking his island.

_Toni's fingers touched her own, playing over them lightly before taking the neck of the bottle and gently pulling it away. _

"Vodka? Really, Abbie, do you think you're going to get me drunk on a cliché?" She was grinning, and when Toni was grinning, Abbie was doing the same.

She shrugged. "I kinda thought I was gonna get you drunk on the vodka, but I've got whiskey too." She leaned back on the sofa and pulled one leg up underneath her.

Abbie listened to Toni's light laughter and shifted as the redhead slipped on the sofa next to her. There was a tension building in the banter that Abbie found absolutely irresistible, just as irresistible as Toni was now that she was so close.

"When you ask me over," Toni said, still smiling as she ran her fingers up Abbie's leg, "and I say 'yes,' you don't need to worry about getting me drunk."

She ran her palm over her hair, tugging at her ponytail lightly as she tired to stop the tears. Abbie knew she had to move on, to take the jacket from the hook, to stop finding reasons to look at the old cases. And she knew she could do it…once Toni got the justice she deserved. She grabbed a pen and tapped it against the desk, trying to bring her thoughts back into focus.

_"Shit," Abbie moaned as she arched into Toni's curling fingers._

Their bodies were close, pressed together and sticky with their own sweat. Little curls of Abbie's hair stuck to her neck and cheeks, and Toni's was tangled, wild. She pressed even closer, Toni's palm on her clit as she squirmed, Abbie's leg between hers.

In the frenzy, she held Toni tighter, wanting to see her come as much as she wanted to come herself. And she wasn't sure when it happened, how it happened, but suddenly they were both still, holding each other as their skin cooled together. She was smiling as she could feel Toni's breath warm against her chest.

"Told you," Toni began, voice light even then, "you didn't need the vodka."

"Dammit," Abbie muttered desperately as she squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Dammit." She wanted to put her head down on her desk and simply close her eyes.

*****

After taking a deep breath, Abbie took the jacket down. She ran her fingers over the soft fabric and held it close, thinking she was breathing in something of Toni's scent. She wasn't sure, though; it was really more of a feeling. After a moment, she folded it and put it underneath the letter meant for Toni's parents. She thought about sending the picture too, but that was hers. Toni had been hers, at least in part.

Abbie smiled softly. Now she felt like she could keep that without guilt overwhelming her while she slowly moved past it. Even in having closure—though more selfish, more personal that what Jack had fought for—Abbie knew she would still carry the guilt, the pain. But she knew how to live with pain.

[ ](http://www.statcounter.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Coming Soon:
> 
> Alex flexed her fingers around the stem of her glass before pushing it away. "I think I'd like something stronger," she said finally. It was dangerous ground, but she couldn't help but feeling that she needed to make up for the tension that seemed to come with every time she and Abbie met. She waved the waiter over for the check and slipped bills into the folder as she stood. "Did you have some place in mind?"
> 
> Abbie stood and put on her coat, "Home." She turned and glanced over her shoulder at the blond, "You coming?"


End file.
